Day 41 of 170: Nene’s Groin

Categorized as: Author: Erik, Fantasy Basketball
Posted on: December 6th, 2010

From the way things are being played out, it appears that Nene Hilario‘s groin is doing fine. We of course mean that in a medical and how it affects his performance in basketball kind of way. For other possible insights into the status of his groin, you’ll have to check with someone else and probably on some other site.

We are talking about the groin injury that was hampering his performance (on the court) at the beginning of the season. That seems to be a thing of the past. Nene’s put together a string of solid looking games and is even the owner of last night’s LOTN.

Line of the Night: It’s good to know that injury woes are, at least for now, behind Nene Hilario (2.79). His 27 points (10-13 from the field), 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks played a huge role in Denver’s win over Memphis. He leads the NBA in FG% at a staggering 62.4 %! Assuming Carmelo Anthony gets traded for someone who isn’t as offensively talented or inclined, which likely be the case, it will be interesting to see how his departure will affect Nene in terms of becoming one of the team’s go-to guys on offense.

Honorable Mentions: Stephen Curry (2.69) put up a nice line in a losing effort for the Golden State Warriors as they fell to the OKC Thunder, who just recently got back the services of their star Kevin Durant. Curry had 39 points, 6 assists, 4 threes, 2 steals, going 14-20 from the field and 7-7 from the line.

On a pleasantly surprising and rare occasion, Toronto’s Amir Johnson (2.03) put on a huge offensive show as he delivered 22 points, 16 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks against the Knicks. Take it with a grain of salt folks. The operative phrase there was “against the Knicks.” Amir’s not going to begin averaging 20-10 for you, but he will be a suitable source of blocks at low turnovers from here on out. Ed Davis will get more opportunities to shine offensively further down the road.

Next we have Amar’e Stoudemire (2.03) of the Knicks. He had 31 points, 16 rebounds, 7-7 from the line. I’ve been following Amar’e lately (even if I don’t own him), and I note that he’s steadily getting better and better. For more check out the Top 10 Power Forwards for November that I laid out over at BTV.com. He’s beginning to really own his new role on the Knicks and their racking up recent W’s are a testament to that progress.

Someone had to contest Denver’s win and on Memphis’ side it was done by Rudy Gay (2.01) who had 24 points, 2 steals, and 5 blocks.

In other fantasy news, Steve Nash (2.00) did a “Pau Gasol” by making all his Field goals and free throws (8-8 from the field 3-3 from the line) for 20 points and 17 assists. He’s been kind of off to start the season, and it’s nice to see him put up this kind of line.

Waiver Wire Line of the Night: Rajon Rondo was out of the Celtics’ lineup and so Nate Robinson (1.80) took up the point guard duties, once again, and came up with fantasy gold to the tune of 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 threes while going 8-12 from the field and 2-2 from the line. Most people threw Nate-Rob when Rondo came back, but if you’re in a daily changes league that has one of those thin starting rosters, and you own Rondo, you may just want to handcuff him by stashing Robinson for last minute absences like these.

Pick Up Lines: Let’s keep this short and sweet. Jerryd Bayless (1.36). He posted 23 points in 26+ minutes off the bench. He got real flirtatious with a trip-dub as he also grabbed seven boards and dropped six dimes. The gravy? He made five threes. Not bad for an under-30-minute performance. Jose Calderon has always been, you know, kind of injury prone. So stashing Bayless for such a rainy day may be a prudent move. As things already has some value in deep leagues. I tweeted to pick him up as soon as I saw his line. I already had him on my watch list in a couple of deep leagues and was totally bummed out that some other guys beat me to him.

Biggest Loser:

…And yet another reason to take a deep breath and drop J.J. Hickson (-1.42) who had 7 points, 2 rebounds 3 assists, and 5 turnovers. He also went 1-4 from the line. Even Nels (the patient one) recommends you say bye-bye to J.J.

On Tap: Personally, I’d like to see Milwaukee kick Miami’s butt. Who doesn’t? Well at least who, among people not from Miami or are not related to LeBron James (by blood), doesn’t? Hey, I can’t let Nels do ALL the Miami bashing, right?

For fantasy fun, it’s gotta be all about the “Love” that’s about to visit the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. 20-20 or better for Kevin, any takers?

However, if you’re wondering what it must be like for two crazy people throw poop at each other, then there’s always the Clippers vs. Kings game. Ok, that was mean. I apologize, but just to the all the crazy people who throw poop at each other, out there.

***

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Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Amir Johnson, Jerryd Bayless, JJ Hickson, Nate Robinson, Nene Hilario, Nene Hilario Injury, Rudy Gay, Stephen Curry, Steve Nash